Dan Brown`s new book came out. In my opinion his latest is also the best. The lost symbol reunites us with Dan Brown`s most known character Robert Langdon, and the vilan of the story is characterized pretty damn good.

Also, on the first day it sold over 1 million copies.

The book's story takes place over a period of 12 hours in D.C., with a focus on Freemasonry.

This is book is without a doubt one of the best I read in the last year, I recommend you all try it.

 

Yes, I'll second this recommendation. The story was well worth the read. And as any successful author with as much mainstream influence as Dan Brown has, he knows that story is, unequivocally, king.

HOWEVER!

And I might as well put this in spoiler tags, just in case it matters:

Spoiler

If you're expecting a plot as mind-blowing as The Da Vinci Code, then I reckon you're going to be disappointed. The Lost Symbol, whilst a thrilling read in and of itself and well worth the money, does not have that air of ancient adventure or the edgy, cut-throat plot that defied organised religion whilst at the same time solidifying the author's belief in a higher power that should be respected. It has something else, but not that same air of defiance.

I don't doubt that a lot of you will see the final twist upon the altar of 'sacrifice' coming. The antagonist's revelations are blaziningly obvious almost from the first time we glimpse his thoughts. However, the use of noetic science and the overall immensity of the plot, including the oncoming apocalypse on 21/12/12, is really well played. I'm actually looking forward to what has been dubbed the 'end of the world', simply because I hope it is something akin to what Dan Brown theorised in The Lost Symbol.

The story takes the character of Robert Langdon that much further. I don't mind picturing him as Tom Hanks, either, because that man filled the part well. However, I was expecting more from Langdon on the heroics side of things, if you follow me. He seemed to be led by his nose a lot in this one.

Sticking with the negative - the first few times the chapters ended with cliffhangers that promised to reveal stunning secrets were fine, but after the eighteenth bloody time a chapter ended with a character on the precipice of figuring out something vital to the story, the anticipation wore thin. I suppose it makes it a page turner, but as the story drew to a close it just made it kind of drag.

All in all, I heartily enjoyed this novel and recommend it to all. Readers of Brown's previous work will like The Lost Symbol.

9.5/10, because nothing is perfect.

 

This is a pretty lame question, but does Langdon end up hooking up with a damsel in distress? In both of the other books he does, so I'm just curious.

 

Spoiler

No.

There ya go.

 

Mathew Reilly anyone? More the fact that every single chapter has a bloody cliffhanger, and it's not even a surprise anymore that they live.

Also the amount of '!' he uses throughout the story gets annoying.

 

Im on about chapter 27 and I'm assuming there is going to be a plot twit similar to Teabing and The Camerlengo and I'm confident I have it already, it will be disappointing if its what I suspect.

There are bits where I can keep reading but then its like I get stuck in treacle and find myself thinking 'get the fuck on with it'.

 

Ah well, the book wasn't bad, it surely kept your attention throughout the whole thing, although that was because of the already mentioned cheap trick of having basically a cliffhanger in every chapter. Halfway through the book I pretended to hear the "Dun, Dun, Duuun" sound in my head.

But for all it's worth, it is Dan Brown, not his best, but definitely on par with his other work, although the thing he went for in this book was slightly more ridiculous then usual. If I knew how to spoiler tag, I would continue on but the ones who have read the book know what I am talking about.

If you are a big Dan Brown fan, sure, buy it, the rest should do it like me and rent it from your local library.

The ending and the villain was extremely disappointing, the twists were so obvious you could foresee nearly every important thing.

On hindsight maybe it is his worst book.